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- Title
COVID-19 and pregnancy: A European study on pre- and post-infection medication use.
- Authors
Hurley, Eimir; Geisler, Benjamin P.; Lupattelli, Angela; Poblador-Plou, Beatriz; Lassalle, Régis; Jové, Jérémy; Bernard, Marie-Agnes; Sakr, Dunia; Sanfélix-Gimeno, Gabriel; Sánchez-Saez, Francisco; Rodríguez-Bernal, Clara L.; Sabaté, Mònica; Ballarín, Elena; Aguilera, Cristina; Jordan, Sue; Thayer, Daniel; Farr, Ian; Ahmed, Saira; Bartolini, Claudia; Limoncella, Giorgio
- Abstract
Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted medication needs and prescribing practices, including those affecting pregnant women. Our goal was to investigate patterns of medication use among pregnant women with COVID-19, focusing on variations by trimester of infection and location. Methods: We conducted an observational study using six electronic healthcare databases from six European regions (Aragon/Spain; France; Norway; Tuscany, Italy; Valencia/Spain; and Wales/UK). The prevalence of primary care prescribing or dispensing was compared in the 30-day periods before and after a positive COVID-19 test or diagnosis. Results: The study included 294,126 pregnant women, of whom 8943 (3.0%) tested positive for, or were diagnosed with, COVID-19 during their pregnancy. A significantly higher use of antithrombotic medications was observed particularly after COVID-19 infection in the second and third trimesters. The highest increase was observed in the Valencia region where use of antithrombotic medications in the third trimester increased from 3.8% before COVID-19 to 61.9% after the infection. Increases in other countries were lower; for example, in Norway, the prevalence of antithrombotic medication use changed from around 1–2% before to around 6% after COVID-19 in the third trimester. Smaller and less consistent increases were observed in the use of other drug classes, such as antimicrobials and systemic corticosteroids. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the substantial impact of COVID-19 on primary care medication use among pregnant women, with a marked increase in the use of antithrombotic medications post-COVID-19. These results underscore the need for further research to understand the broader implications of these patterns on maternal and neonatal/fetal health outcomes.
- Subjects
EUROPE; ANTIBIOTICS; STEROID drugs; PREGNANCY; RESEARCH funding; SCIENTIFIC observation; INFECTION; PREGNANT women; FIBRINOLYTIC agents; PRE-tests &; post-tests; ANTIVIRAL agents; DURATION of pregnancy; ELECTRONIC health records; COVID-19; DRUG utilization
- Publication
European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2024, Vol 80, Issue 5, p707
- ISSN
0031-6970
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00228-024-03639-z